The nose shows a hint of reduction before stone fruit, dried herbs, a little waxy character, earth and spice while the palate has great depth and texture for a wine with an alcohol of just 12.5%. Layers of flavour, nicely integrated acidity and a gently savoury finish.' – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 95/100.
Chenin blanc (49%), Clairette blanche (9%), Sémillon (8%), Grenache blanc (7%), Roussanne (7%), Verdelho (6%), Viognier (6%), Marsanne (4%), Colombar (4%)
The Aristargos 2021 is yet again predominantly both Chenin blanc and Old Vines driven (Chenin blanc, Sémillon, Clairette blanche and Colombar), and the focus remains on the granitic soils of the Paardeberg. Chenin blanc from shallow shale soils in the Paardeberg and iron rich clay soils to the west of Malmesbury are also added. Dry land farmed bush vines have stood the test of time and it showcases the ultimate reason why Chenin blanc is our main focus in the Swartland. Planting dates vary from 1960 until 2013. The grapes were whole bunch pressed and naturally fermented and then matured for 11 months in old neutral French oak barrels. The grapes from the two Sémilllon vineyards were fermented on their skins for a week before being pressed and matured in a very old 2 500 L foudre for a year. The Colombar was also fermented on the skins (for 5 days) and matured in an old oak barrel. One Chenin blanc component was fermented and matured in a concrete egg. In total the grapes from 19 different vineyards were used, picked on 21 different dates.
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